Film Review with Robert Mann – Arthur

27th April 2011

Arthur ****

As films to remake go, the 1981 Dudley Moore comedy Arthur hardly seems like an obvious choice to get the treatment. And, as people to take over Dudley Moore’s titular role go, Russell Brand might not seem like the obvious candidate. Yet, a full thirty years on, a remake is upon us and the leading role has indeed gone to Russell Brand, a star whose career really seems to have taken off as of late, with him only just recently having lent his voice to the leading character in family movie Hop. For his latest film Russell Brand is well and truly in the big leagues. Best known for humorous supporting roles in films starring other established comedy stars, Brand’s only leading role to date was in Get Him to the Greek, which saw him reprising the supporting role he played in Jason Segel comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Arthur sees him rubbing shoulders with such big stars and respected actors as Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner as well as often funny supporting man Luiz Guzman and rising star Greta Gerwig, the latter only having had one widely seen role to date, in this year’s No Strings Attached.
The star power on display in front of the camera, however, isn’t really evident behind the camera as well. Sharing something in common with original film director Steve Gordon whose career before directing Arthur had mostly seen him just directing episodes of TV shows, director Jason Winer has little big screen experience, his most notable directorial credit being for episodes of TV comedy series Modern Family although screenwriter Peter Baynham has had somewhat more big screen experience, having previously written the scripts for both Borat and Brüno. Upon its release the 1981 original was a big success but this remake seems to have rather followed in the footsteps of 1988 sequel Arthur 2: On the Rocks, which was such a failure that Dudley Moore actually disowned it, in being a commercial failure on its cinema release in the US – where it actually opened third behind the second weekend of Hop and the first weekend of Saoirse Ronan assassin thriller Hanna.

This, of course, could partly be attributed to Russell Brand simply not being much of a box office draw over there but, combined with lacklustre reviews, it is hardly something that will inspire confidence in many moviegoers over here that this film is actually any good. The 1981 original actually received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor in a Leading Role for Dudley Moore and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for writer/director Steve Gordon, and also two wins in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category for John Gielgud and the Best Original Song category for Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) by Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross and Peter Allen, but such success has definitely eluded the 2011 remake, many reviews thus far being negative and there being no impression whatsoever that anything about this film is even remotely award worthy. A film not being award worthy, however, doesn’t mean that it isn’t good. Anyone going in to see Arthur expecting something that would warrant the attention of the Academy Awards was always going to be in for disappointment but if it is more light hearted entertainment you are looking for then Arthur take two is a film that definitely delivers.

Despite having been told what to do all his life, Arthur Bach (Russell Brand), the sole heir to the billion dollar fortune of corporate empire Bach Worldwide, has turned out as an irresponsible playboy whose only interest in life seems to be having a good time. Arthur has never worked a day in his life and spends his days going on outlandish drink binges with chauffer and friend Bitterman (Luiz Guzman), sleeping around, recklessly throwing about his money and generally doing virtually everything in his power to humiliate himself and thus the entire company he is set to inherit. All the while his “nanny” Lillian Hobson (Helen Mirren) is tasked with cleaning up his messes and generally taking care of his upkeep, a job that is as frustrating as is it thankless. With his behaviour casting doubts over the future of the corporate empire and thus putting investors off putting their money into it, Arthur’s mother Vivienne (Geraldine James) decides that enough is enough and issues Arthur with an ultimatum after wealthy heiress Susan Johnson makes a proposal to her – make Arthur marry her and she will keep him in line.

The ultimatum is as such – Arthur must marry Susan or be cut off from the money and thus his life of privilege. There’s just one problem – Arthur doesn’t love Susan, in fact he’s downright scared of her and her borderline psychotic father Burt (Nick Nolte). Not only that but he has fallen in love with someone else, Naomi Quinn (Greta Gerwig), a free spirited woman with no money but a big heart who introduces him to a whole world that doesn’t require lots of money to find happiness. With his heart in one place but him not knowing any kind of life without his vast fortune, Arthur has a choice to make. Can he choose love – and lose the safety net his money provides? Or will he settle for marriage to the terrifying Susan?

Opening with Arthur and Bitterman dressed as Batman and Robin going for a spin in the Batmobile from Batman Forever – just one of many movie cars that Arthur owns which features throughout the film, others being the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo and the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard – while pissed out of their mind and being chased by a load of police cars, Arthur wastes no time in introducing to its titular character and his fun filled responsibility free lifestyle. This opening scene, a hilarious high speed car chase, reveals much about the film’s protagonist and establishes him as an extremely over the top and eccentric individual, one who also has a rather generous streak as illustrated by the way that, after being arrested, he pays not only his own bail but also that of everyone who is locked up with him.

Often coming across like a child in a man’s body – he sleeps in a bed made of magnets (which is actually the centrepiece for one of the film’s best gags) over which a solar system mobile hangs, he has own cinema in his penthouse apartment for watching cartoons, he enters into a bidding war with himself at an auction just for the hell of it and he has an ability for spotting people who look like celebrities – with all the childishness and immaturity that that implies, Arthur is a character who is frequently very funny, largely thanks to Russell Brand’s charismatic and entertaining performance, but also surprisingly sympathetic at times. Despite having more money than many of us will earn in our entire lifetimes, Arthur is a character who we can empathise with on some level and feel for, the term money can’t buy you happiness really being very appropriate to his situation. It’s clear that he is a character who really just wants to be loved and, for all his reckless behaviour, it also becomes apparent that the way he has turned out is not entirely his fault, a lot of the blame really going to his mother Vivienne who, played suitably cold and mechanically by Geraldine James, is not exactly motherly, her life plans for him not really giving him much of a choice.

The money is all he has ever known but it’s only when with Naomi that he really seems truly alive, his dates with her being truly magical and romantic, in particular a scene where he closes Grand Central Station for a date with her and they eat PEZ candy out of PEZ dispensers shaped like their heads while acrobats perform all around which is incredibly sweet. Playing a delightful free spirit, Greta Gerwig is sweet, charming, genuine and natural and all round totally lovable, all of which makes it very to see why Arthur would fall for her, and on screen her character and Arthur just click, making us truly believe that they should be together. This makes us understand all the more why Arthur so doesn’t want to marry Susan. The chemistry that exists between Russell Brand and Greta Gerwig deliberately doesn’t exist between him and Jennifer Garner, every time they appear on screen together Brand coming across convincingly uncomfortable as Arthur’s immense dislike for the elegant and sophisticated but borderline crazy Susan is blatantly evident and, with Jennifer Garner, normally known for playing sweet or heroic roles, effectively playing a real bitch who has one hell of a nasty streak, it is easy to understand why this is the case.

While to some the choice he has to make – enter into a loveless marriage and keep his money or go for true love and lose it all – might seem an easy one, Arthur’s upbringing in which a life of privilege is all he has ever known makes it considerably less so, something which is translated onto the screen. Arthur really does try to fit into the real world so that he can be with Naomi and his personal journey is rather inspiring, the character genuinely undergoing a major transformation as the film progresses from irresponsible playboy to someone who accepts that a truly contented existence is one that comes with responsibilities, and it is hard not to feel a sense of triumph as he emerges victorious. And equally when tragedy strikes it is hard not to feel a hint of sadness for the character as the true extent of his relationship with Hobson becomes apparent, it becoming clear that Hobson – played ably by Helen Mirren in a role that isn’t exactly the classiest she has ever played – has been more of a mother to Arthur than his mother has and, despite wearing her immense dislike of Arthur’s antics across her face and really looking as though she enjoys punching him in one scene, she really does care about him, all of which makes certain scenes all the sadder to watch.

Of course, any empathy we have for Arthur is magnified many times for a couple of the supporting characters, in particular Hobson who has to deal with all of Arthur’s misdeeds and Naomi who is just a normal person trying to get by in life, two characters that are far more relatable than Arthur is – it isn’t just Arthur’s journey that is moving but theirs too. As well as being moving, this film is of course also very funny, it being a comedy after all. Appropriately eccentric as well as perfectly flamboyant and charming, Russell Brand is a good character actor and he gets much opportunity to show this off here, a scene in which Arthur says about how he doesn’t trust horses because their shoes are permanent being a pretty good example. One of the funniest scenes, however, revolves around Arthur’s magnetic bed set piece. Giving Jennifer Garner the opportunity to show off her very funny and seductive side as she acts like a pussy cat then get attracted to Arthur’s bed because of her metallic undergarments, the simple line “At least something in this room is attracted to you” is comic gold and aroused a lot of laughter in the screening I attended.

Of course, the impact will be lost on some people but as you as you don’t take this film too seriously and accept that it is something that has its tongue firmly in its cheek there is plenty to enjoy here. The writing and direction are both very good, with Winer and Baynham both contributing a lot to the humour, but ultimately what makes the film work (or not work depending on your personal stance on Russell Brand) is Brand himself. As well as being very entertaining, Brand also proves pretty convincing, acting drunk pretty well, apparently drawing from his own real life past experiences with alcohol, and making good on the poster tagline “the world’s only loveable billionaire”. As for other actors not already mentioned, Nick Nolte is appropriately psychotic as her father and Luiz Guzman is rather amusing in a role that does see him slightly underused. So, in all Arthur is a sweet and heartwarming comedy and one that has much to recommend it. Enjoyment of the film, however, will depend entirely on your tolerance for Russell Brand and his brand of humour. In one scene Arthur serves Hobson marmite on toast, appropriate given that this is probably a love it or hate it kind of film, which camp you fall into depending on whether or not you actually like Russell Brand’s brand of humour.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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